Google launches Android mirroring on Chromecast

Promised last month at the Google I/O 2014 conference, the Chromecast development team just announced the launch of Android mirroring support on the Google Chromecast HDMI dongle. Available on the Google Play store in a Chromecast app update (version 1.7) within the next few days, Chromecast owners will be able to mirror anything that’s being displayed on the Android device screen. Detailed on the Google Chrome Blog, this will be particularly useful when attempting to show off a selection of photos or videos to a group that’s situated around a Chromecast-connected television.

Of course, the mirroring process will also work with applications such as games and utilities. Based off the presentation at Google I/O, the mirroring process was relatively free of lag when the camera application was being tested. After updating to version 1.7 of the Chromecast application, the user opens up the navigation drawer of the app to initiate the mirroring process. The user simply selects “Cast Screen” from the menu as well as the Chromecast device that’s currently active on the Wi-Fi network.

Anyone using a Nexus device will find the mirroring option in the Quick Settings menu, basically under Android Settings, then Display, then Cast Screen. In addition, the Chromecast app update isn’t required on Nexus devices.

At this time, there are a limited number of Android devices that support the new mirroring option. According to the Chromecast help page, the list of supported devices includes the Nexus 4, Nexus 5, Nexus 7 (2013), Nexus 10, Samsung Galaxy S4, Samsung Galaxy S4 (Google Play Edition), Samsung Galaxy S5, Samsung Galaxy Note 3, Samsung Galaxy Note 10, HTC One M7, HTC One M7 (Google Play Edition), LG G3, LG G2 and LG G Pro 2. Google is promising more support for other Android devices in the future, but hasn’t indicated which devices are being worked on at this time.